I did this project for Professor Kohler's FINA 4350 class in spring '23.
Summary: I investigated whether large VIX up-moves tend to precede periods of higher than average risk-adjusted returns. I find evidence that very large VIX up-moves(as measured by certain std day/day changes in points & closing price std) capture elevated ERP. I analyze buying and holding SPY for 1-year hold times following a two week lag after generated signals.
Edit: 2/13/2024: It's cool to see how much I've learned since last spring; I'll update this project with improved code/robustness/logic and an actual backtest soon. I plan to post some more recent work along with some bigger projects that are currently in progress.